And when the Great Recession recedes, analysts say, even the bigger casinos are expected to return to health; America's gambling itch is not going away. But if the industry is confident of a rebound, executives seem poised to emerge from the downturn with slimmed-down ambitions.

The $1 billion resort projects of just a few years ago seem unthinkable today. Prospective casino developers in Massachusetts are already talking about "right-sizing" their ventures. And if a full-scale casino sprouts in Rhode Island, it will be something less than a sprawling Foxwoods-style destination. "The 'if you build it, they will come' adage has been thrown out the window," Berman says.

Part of the reason for caution in these parts: an increasingly crowded marketplace along the eastern seaboard. There are the casinos of Connecticut and the slot parlors of Rhode Island, of course. There is Atlantic City, attempting to recast a tired façade, and Massachusetts, which seems destined to join the fray.

But there is also a "racino" in Maine. Six slot parlors and a resort casino in Pennsylvania. New York claims three upstate Indian casinos and some 13,000 video lottery terminals at eight racinos. West Virginia is now offering table games at several of its gambling venues. And last year, Maryland voters approved a constitutional amendment legalizing slot machines.

With mounting competition, the double-digit gains of the recent past seem unlikely to return. "I don't think I'd characterize it as a growth industry going forward," says Clyde W. Barrow, a gambling expert who is the director of the Center for Policy Analysis at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth. "It's near maturity."

And for individual venues, the precise geography of gaming can be a make-or-break proposition. Until recently, for instance, Massachusetts lawmakers talked of licensing three casinos, with one in the southeastern part of the state that would be a direct competitor to Twin River and Newport Grand. But House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo recently spoke of a two-casino plan that would presumably axe the southeastern Massachusetts project.

The path the Bay State legislature takes — two casinos or three — could have serious implications for the viability of Twin River and Newport Grand, Barrow says. Indeed, he argues, Rhode Island voters may have lost the opportunity to control the fate of the state's gaming industry when it rejected full-scale casino gambling — and the opportunity to effectively block a casino in southeastern Massachusetts — three years ago.

But even before the marketplace grew so crowded, even before the recession struck, it was far from clear that casinos meant much in the way of economic development for the communities that hosted them. Studies going back a decade or more found employment gains, sometimes significant and sometimes not, coupled with hard-to-quantify increases in personal bankruptcy and pathological gambling.

"Most of the people I know who are legit would say it's a wash," says Richard McGowan, a Jesuit priest and professor at Boston College who specializes in gambling. "The big winners," he says, "are state governments."

'A HUGE INVESTMENT'

Indeed, it is Smith Hill's dependence on gaming dollars — and its desire to protect one of its most important assets going forward — that will drive the push for casinos in this state.

Let's get serious The odds are that casino gambling is coming to Massachusetts. The state’s big three — Governor Deval Patrick, State Senate President Therese Murray, and House Speaker Robert DeLeo — are all in favor.

Kwok 'N' Roll After the third costume change of his show, Aaron Kwok strode from the midst of a gaggle of backup dancers to the front of the stage, rearing his head back.

Burning down the house "The life of the artist is seeing possibility where other people don't," says Madeleine Steczynski, an East Boston artist and activist.

2009: Worth another look The lousy economy hit home this year as Stairwell Gallery in Providence and Yes Gallery in Warren closed their doors.

Local heroes, ’09 edition The Rhode Island music community flourished in 2009, with new full-lengths from the Coming Weak, California Smile, and the pride of Cranston West and official big-leaguers Monty Are I, who released Break Through the Silence in September.

2009: The year in art The year started off with a kick in the teeth when, in January, Brandeis University announced plans to shutter its Rose Art Museum and sell off its masterpieces.

2009: The year in dance You could say there were two tremendous forces that propelled dance into the world of modern culture: the Ballets Russes of Serge Diaghilev and the choreography of Merce Cunningham.

Reading is fundamentalist In 2009, liberals held firm control of the presidency, the US Senate, and the US House of Representatives. But there was one realm where conservatives dominated: the New York Times bestseller list.

The future is now Even with all the promise of the new year ahead, it's hard not to feel a little stiffed in the Future of Mankind department. Here it is, 2010, and there's nary a flying car to be seen.

LIBERAL WARRIOR | April 10, 2013 When it comes to his signature issues — climate change, campaign finance reform, tax fairness — Whitehouse makes little secret of his approach: marshal the facts, hammer the Republicans, and embarrass them into action.

AT BROWN, A WIN FOR CLIMATE CHANGE ACTIVISTS | April 11, 2013 A key Brown University oversight committee has voted to recommend the school divest from coal, delivering a significant victory to student climate change activists.

HACKING POLITICS: A GUIDE | April 03, 2013 Last year, the Internet briefly upended everything we know about American politics.

BREAK ON THROUGH | March 28, 2013 When I spoke with Treasurer Gina Raimondo this week, I opened with the obligatory question about whether she'll run for governor. "I'm seriously considering it," she said. "But I think as you know — we've talked about it before — I have little kids: a six-year-old, an eight-year-old. I'm a mother. It's a big deal."

THE LIBERAL CASE FOR GUNS | March 27, 2013 The school massacre in Newtown, Connecticut spurred hope not just for sensible gun regulation, but for a more nuanced discussion of America's gun culture. Neither wish has been realized.